Baking

I've been saving this one, debating on if it really does brighten my day to bake and how I should write about this... Needless to say, I really do love to bake. Cookies, bread, even just cooking dinner. I love it. It's become something that is really important for me to do (maybe because I'm a newly-wed and that "house wife mode" is starting to kick in) and something that I have come to enjoy. I've found I love finding recipes to try and making them to see if Boy likes them or not.

In all honesty, before I went to Japan (2010), my cooking and baking skills were at a minimum. (No lie, I totally made the fire alarm go off at college while cooking macaroni and cheese...) It was boxed mixes all the time. Sure! I could cook! Little did I know that I would be going somewhere that did NOT have box mixes and did NOT have convection ovens. Uhm, so I guess you could say Japan taught me how to cook for reals and not just from a Macaroni and Cheese box. When I came home however, I had to re-teach myself again how to cook because of the different measurement systems and other things. But! Through trial and error, I did it!!! Last night, I finally made bread!

And doesn't it look yummy?!!

Ok ok ok, so I did have help. The first time I made this, it was with my friend Joanna who is minoring in culinary arts and wants to open her own bakery... So, she taught me what to do and what not to do and a few tips, because everytime I have ever made bread before, it's never risen, it's burnt, exploded in the oven, it's hard as a rock.... BUT this time I did it myself!!!

I've been on a baking/cooking spree while I've been out here. It started with desserts and sweet stuff, but now I'm learning how to really cook dinner and bake all sorts of things! It sometimes is frustrating, but it's so exciting when things turn out right and delicious! Right now I'm working on some English Muffins. Mmmm. Also, this week I had a whole bushel of apples and so I finally got the courage to use my crockpot for the first time and I made some Applesauce and Applebutter! (Which tastes delicious on the bread...)

(Isn't he cute? *twitter-patted*)

With this whole new baking spree, I decided to start up a new blog and got Joanna in on it too! It's a recipe blog! I know there are a TON of recipe's out there and a MILLION blogs on cooking, but it would be nice to have all my recipes that I'm gathering in one spot. Maybe one day I can make a cookbook! :D That would be exciting to have my very own cookbook. Maybe.